Fresh from the first meet of the Cross Country season, Skagway runners and the team’s new coach Blake Bottle are looking at a packed schedule of races leading up to regionals on Sept. 21 and the state competition on Sept. 28.
“We’ve been practicing now for three weeks,” Bottle said. “Now we get into the thick of it where there’s basically something every weekend.”
Training for the brief Cross Country season is intensive, with every weekday incorporating some form of exercise.
On Mondays the team runs the service road up to Lower Dewey Lake. Tuesdays are spent working on mid-distance running and specialized training.
Wednesdays are long runs and Thursdays typically incorporate more special work, with the week capping off with more running on Fridays.
Since this is Bottle’s first year coaching, he said he’s “going into it blind” in terms of familiarity with the course layouts.
However, the optional Douglass Island meet on Aug. 18 was on the same course that regionals will take place on, giving the new coach a chance to scope out the race path for one of the more important events in the season.
Skagway will also be hosting a meet on Sept. 1; territory Bottle said he is much more familiar with.
“In terms of Ketchikan or Sitka, I really have no idea, I’m just going to scope it out around the coach’s meetings and figure it all out,” Bottle said.
Six boys and one female runner make up the group’s roster.
“I think we have a really good team,” Bottle said. “I know there’s two guys for sure that are going to be competing to go to state.”